Hey bunqers 🌈,
Your security is our top priority. If we spot unusual activity on your bunq account, we act right away to keep your money safe. That means we may temporarily stop outgoing payments from your bank accounts while we check what happened.
These types of restrictions are rare: they apply only when there’s a security concern, never due to ordinary spending patterns. If we do restrict an account, it’s for the duration of the review and just until we’re absolutely sure your account is secure.
Our team usually performs the review within 3 days. And in many cases, you can help expedite the process by answering our questions in your secure bunq app.
💭Keep in mind: A restriction is a temporary pause to your outgoing payments, it’s not account closure. It just means something on your account needed a second look for your security.
Why is my bank account restricted?
A bank account restriction is a temporary security measure we take to keep your money safe. We apply it when something on your account looks unusual enough that we'd rather pause a payment than risk your money leaving your account.
When your bank accounts are restricted, you'll see them marked as unavailable in your bunq app. During the restriction, all of your outgoing payments are paused to limit any potential financial losses while we perform a thorough review to make sure everything is normal. Here are some of most common reasons:
Our security system spotted suspicious payment activity, so outgoing transactions and card payments are suspended until the activity is reviewed
We asked for information or documents that we haven't received yet, for example about your source of funds, a specific payment, or how you intend to use your bunq account
A requirement wasn't met in time, for example moving business activity from a personal account to a business account
As a European bank, we're legally required to understand the activity on the accounts we hold. That's why some of these checks aren't optional for us, and why we sometimes have to ask questions before a payment goes through.
What happens when my account is restricted?
Your balance stays in your account and your money remains yours. This what happens to the incoming and outgoing payments while your account is restricted:
Outgoing payments, including card payments, are paused from all of your bank accounts
Incoming payments continue arriving safely to your account, so your salary or any other transfer on its way still arrives timely
Opening new bank accounts is temporarily unavailable until the restriction is lifted
How can I speed up the review?
Sometimes, we’ll need some additional information from you in order to confirm that the account is safe.
Here's how to check:
Open the bunq app and go to your Profile
Look at Awaiting Events and any open chats
Answer every question and attach the documents we asked for, as photos or PDFs, for example a salary slip or a statement from another bank
Answering everything in one go is the fastest route back to normal. Partial answers mean we come back to you, and that adds days.
When submitting documents, make sure to:
Share the entire document
Include all pages of the document
Include all signatures found on the document
The text is clear and readable
The names of all parties in the document are clearly visible
If the restriction has been in place for more than 2 days and you've provided everything, contact our team through the secure in-app Support Chat.
What happens next?
Our team reviews your account and aims to have it back to normal within 3 days. We always send a secure in-app notification when we finish our review.
If we need more context, we'll ask you a few short questions through the secure in-app Support Chat. If our review shows your account is being used for illegal activity, we're required to keep access closed. Depending on the case, that's either temporary until we have the missing details, or permanent.
How do I know a message is really from bunq?
We will never call you out of the blue or ask you to send your funds to another account in order to secure them. We will never ask for your security code, a magic link, your card number, your IBAN, or your phone number outside the bunq app. If someone contacts you claiming to be bunq and asks for any of that, it isn't us.
Think you've been scammed? Reset your security code and file a fraud report. Our anti-fraud guide walks you through securing your account step by step.
Is an unavailable account the same as Safety Mode?
No, and it's worth knowing the difference:
An unavailable account during a restriction pauses all of your outgoing payments from your bank accounts entirely, until the review is complete or you verify it's you
Safety Mode keeps your account usable for day-to-day spending and caps outgoing payments at €500 per day while we review
Both are temporary, both keep incoming payments flowing, and both exist to stop money leaving your account if someone else has gained access to it.
Is my account being closed?
A restriction is not a closure. It's a temporary pause in order to keep you safe, and in most cases it's lifted within 3 days.
If your account is being closed instead, that's a separate process with its own notice period, its own timelines, and a clear route to withdrawing your remaining balance. You can learn more about permanent account closure here.